In 1892 she was appointed superior of the Sisters of Charity in Melbourne and was responsible not only for St Patrick's but for four other primary schools established by the sisters between 1891 and 1897.

Meanwhile, on her visits to the sick poor in the inner city area, she had become convinced of the need for a hospital administered by the sisters, similar to St Vincent's, Sydney. She received practical encouragement and in 1893, as a temporary measure, she established the first St Vincent's Hospital in a 'low roofed, old-fashioned boarding house' at 3 Albert Terrace. As rectress, she helped to prepare the young trainee nurses for examinations and arranged their practical work. When the building fund raised £10,000, she planned the new hospital (opened in 1905) and the re-siting of what became known as the Catholic Ladies' College. The hospital had been granted its first government subsidy in 1903, and that year its training school for nurses was established and affiliated to the Royal Victorian Trained Nurses' Association.